Whenever we submit an application for research funding, a lot of thought goes into how we will recruit people to participate in the study. However, retaining participants – getting them to continue to participate in the study after the initial interview, survey or visit - is actually the hardest part. The successful retention of study subjects relies on many factors. A key one is the dynamic of the study team.

Tasha, a fifteen-year old girl I was seeing at our clinic at a family homeless shelter (formerly a motel), stared at the floor as I talked with her about her sore throat and stuffy nose. Toward the end of the conversation, I asked her if anyone had ever talked to her about her weight, which was at the 99th percentile for girls her age.

“Yes. My primary care doctor said I should eat healthier and go to the gym.”

I looked around the stuffy, re-purposed motel room, currently being used as a meeting room, clinic, and storage room. The view from the window was of a large parking lot and cars whizzing by on the neighboring I-95. There was not a gym in sight.

Who We Are

Researchers, educators, clinicians, nutrition and wellness experts of the Division of Chronic Disease Research Across the Lifecourse (CoRAL) in the Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute.